Re: [Paddlewise] Sunglasses and clip-ons

>From: "Joe Pylka" <pylka_at_castle.net>
>On another note, you can always see wonderful sunglasses in the outdoors
>catalogs.  Many will do a really good job.  But they're Never Ever sold as
>clipons!  Take a look around at all those people wearing glasses.  Is their
>marketing missing something?  Even with the proliferation of contact 
>lenses,
>there's still a lot of sealed beams out there.  (including me).
>
>Joe P.
I'm not a optomitrist (and I've never played one on TV!), but I do wear 
highly corrective glasses or contacts (6.5 in one eye, and 7.0 in the other 
for those who know about such things). I also have the benifit of talking to 
the guy who buys optics for our mutual employer, an outdoor retailer. We get 
requests for high-tech clip-ons as well, but have yet to find a pair we feel 
does a better job than prescription sunglasses.
Among the problems:
With the treatment of prescription glasses as a fashion accessory rather 
than simply utilitarian optics, frames come in a mind-boggling assortment of 
shapes and sizes. No general retailer can afford to stock enough different 
types of clip-ons to properly fit what's on the market, plus new styles are 
arriving all the time.
General prescription frames were not designed with "technical" outdoor 
sunglass use in mind, so even if (a big if) you had clip-ons that fit them 
exactly, you would propably have a huge amount of light "leakage" around the 
edges. Possibly acceptable for driving and sipping cafe au laits on the 
corner, not acceptable for long days on the water or mountaineering.
>From the point of view of light-tightness and actual UV protection, the best 
"fit-on tops" are the better models of those "virtual reality goggles" you 
often see senior citizens wearing over their bifocals. But you can see why 
sports-minded types wouldn't go for this: the goggles are large, heavy, 
clumsy (for active sports), and who wants to look like a senior citizen 
(even if you are) when you're doing things that make you feel so young at 
heart?
My suggestion would be either prescription sunglasses, or checking to see if 
the company that made your regular glasses makes custom after-market 
clip-ons (my wife got hers at the same time she brought her regular 
glasses).

Philip Torrens
N49°16' W123°06'


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